Stephen pov
I teleported into my room and collapsed onto the bed in tears. The pain in my chest was unbearable. It felt as though John had stabbed my heart with a rusted blade and twisted it right before dumping a pound of salt on the wound. Which to be honest I would had preferred to this betrayal. 'How could he do this to me?' was all I could think. I sobbed and pulled myself into a fetal position, trying my best not to wake Luca. ' . . He can't be gone. please.' i prayed to some unknown god. Even though my Father had been gone from my life for several years I needed him. I needed him to be alive somewhere. He couldn't just be gone, taken away from me again. John's face flashed across my mind, as it so often did. This time was different though. This time I knew I was looking into the eyes of a murderer, my father's murderer. Anger, sadness, betrayal, hurt, and mourning all swirled together creating a deadly cocktail of energy in my veins. 'HOW COULD HE DO THIS TO ME!TO MY FATHER! TO LUCA!' I mentally screamed. Suddenly I heard my door begin to open. I quickly wiped my face, sat up, and took a deep breath. "Stephen?Are you up?" Luca whispered. "Yeah." i answered. Luca made his way over to my bed and sat on the edge. "What's wrong?" I asked, seeing the distressed look on his face. "Stephen is...were you..crying?" he asked. I looked away. 'He doesn't need to know. Spare him.' I thought to myself. "I..yes. It was just a nightmare Luca, don't worry about it. Why are you up?" i asked.
Luca shifted. "I can't sleep. I keep feeling like something is wrong." he confessed. 'Smart kid. Everything. Everything is wrong.' i mentally answered. "Hey. Nothing is wrong, Luca. You're safe, and I promise that I will not let anything ever happen to you. Alright?" I promised. This was not a lie. I would protect him always, and in his world nothing was wrong. "Yeah. Maybe its just nerves from the soccer conference coming up." he admitted. I nodded and forced a smile. "Yeah, look go get some sleep. Tomorrow i'll take you to a movie and pizza, my treat." I promised. I needed to be there for Luca as much as possible now that my father was dead. Luca smiled brightly, and put out his fist. I bumped it and laughed. "I hope you just got paid big bro! I eat large!" he teased. "You'll eat medium or you'll eat teeth. got it?" I teased back. Luca laughed and went back to his room. "I love you man." I said. Luca stopped and smiled. "I love you too bro. You're the best."he said. The door shut and my room felt colder as it came back to reality.
I put my head in my hands. What the hell was I gonna do.
John pov
(next day)
My alarm went off at 6:00,but I made no move to get out of bed. I had the overwhelming urge to hide away and try to figure out how to win back Stephen's love. And even harder, his trust. What I did to Stephen was cruel. He didn't deserve that.
'It's your fault. You did kill his father' my mind told me.
'They gave the order!' i defended.
'So? You pulled the trigger. That's all that matters at the end of the day.'
'Fuck you! I didn't want to do this! They made me!'
'You had the choice! and you failed to make the correct one. That is why Stephen hates you.'
'You think I don't know that?!'
'So what are you gonna do about it?'
The voice was right. At the end of the day it didn't matter who gave the order or who did what when. What matters is now. Who am I now? I got up out of bed and moved to my closet. I pulled it open and put on a black v-neck with black jeans, leather high top shoes and my leather jacket. I walked over to the bathroom, brushed my teeth and brushed my hair back. "Okay okay okay. What else? roses? Overplayed. Chocolates? No stupid." I muttered to myself. "Don't take him anything. He'll think you're trying to buy his forgiveness. Just talk to him." said a voice making me jump. "Jesus Jed! What the hell man!" I exclaimed. "I did knock." Jed said amused. I rolled my eyes. "Look can you take this off? I need to go see Stephen." I asked gesturing to my arm band. Jed shook his head. "It stays on John. In any case your father is here." he said. I felt my body go tense. "What the hell is he doing here?" i asked my voice becoming iron. I felt my adrenaline begin to flow. "He wants to speak with you. John do not do anything stupid." he warned. I took a deep breath and tried to level myself out. I nodded at Jed. "Okay." i said. Jed gestured for my father to enter my room. "Good morning Johnathan. Glad to see you're up this morning." my father commented. "Can we skip this idle chit chat and jump right into the part where you tell me why you're here?" I growled. My father smirked. "You know exactly why I'm here John. " he said. "I'm not going to tell you where they are. You know that." I answered. My father raised his eyebrows. "Its so adorable that you still believe I need you to volunteer this information. I could just as easily take it from you, maybe even adjust that attitude of yours." he warned.
"And risk loosing your prized soldier? Not a chance." I challenged. My father began to circle around me like a vulture getting ready to feed. "Are you familiar with the writer Sun Tzu?" My father asked. "Famous Chinese general, military strategist, and philosopher. What about him?" I answered annoyed. My eyes followed my father while I waited for the point he was trying to make. "He once wrote The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting." My father quoted as he looked through my various books. "If you have a point, make it." I ordered. "My point, Johnathan, is I don't need you to tell me the location of your friends. I just need you to do the inevitable." he admitted. "And what is that?" i muttered. "I just need you to do the heroic deed. That is when I will have what I need." my father said turning to me. " Fu-" I started before I was thrown into a wall. "You would do best to watch you language when you are in my presence, son. I do not take kindly to disrespect, as you well know." he said. I picked myself off the floor. "Screw you. I am not your son, and you are not my father." I spat.
My father walked towards me until we were an inch apart. "I am warning you,boy. Watch your tongue. I will not repeat myself" he growled. I glared at my father. "Fuck. You." I spat. suddenly I was thrown into the wall and something hit me hard in the ribs. I gasped for air and was pinned back against the wall. "I warned you, Johnathan. You seem to have forgotten your place and how you were kept in line as a child. Perhaps we need to revisit those tactics." my father said as his voice darkened. I felt my blood run cold at the mention of past punishments. All were mentally and physically cruel. He took my silence as motivation to continue. "Perhaps we could dust of the canes?" he provoked. I visibly flinched at the mention of the canes. "No? Perhaps your right that is a bit too overplayed. How about three days in the Pit?" he continued. We stood in silence and glared. Each of us challenging the other to make a move.
'Apologize John. Apologize and we can be done with it.' my father said telepathiclly
'I have endured you punishments before. What makes you think I won't do it now?'
'Because back then you only had to worry about youself. Now you have more at stake then yourself.'
'What are you talking about?'
'How long do you think Stephen would last in the Pit? Or with the canes? How long do you think it would take to make him break? I would enjoy finding out, and I would make you watch every second of it.'
'You wouldn't.'
'Or even better his younger brother, Luca? How do you think Stephen would react then? I,of course, would give you credit for my work. What then?'
'Luca has nothing to do with this world! He's just a kid!'
'So?'
I let that thought sink in. Luca was everything to Stephen , and he was so innocent. Hell, he was like my little brother. I couldn't let anything happen to them. I wouldn't let it happen, no matter what I had to do.
'I..apologize.'
'Properly Johnathan.'
'I apologize for my blatant disrespect...'
'I'm waiting.'
F-father.'
'Very good Johnathan. Nice to see you are still capable of controlling yourself.'
With that the weight that was holding me down lifted. I dropped.
"You will remain in Jedikaih's , you will be practicing your skills. Am I understood?"he stated fixing his tie. I nodded. "As for Stephen he will remain un harmed as long as you ?" hye added. "I understand." i answered. My father left the he left I just sat there and cradled my head. What am I gonna do?
